State and federal officials reached an agreement this week that signs off on the completion of two important Everglades Restoration projects.
Following a two-year stalemate, Florida water managers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers resolved some disagreements about funding and land.
This means two projects aimed at fixing water issues in the Everglades and in Lake Okeechobee can now be completed.
One of the two projects is restoration of the Kissimmee River. The project restores a 9,000-acre floodplain that will hold water now flowing into Lake Okeechobee.
Eric Draper with Audubon Florida said this will eventually stop a lot of the harmful water flows into estuaries east and west of the Lake.
“At some point we will have a huge amount of water that will be sitting in that floodplain rather than flushing into Lake Okeechobee and into the Caloosahatchee,” he said. “It’s a real win.”
Draper said this latest agreement will complete restoration of the last four miles of the river.
Officials also agreed to finish the C-111 project in South Miami Dade, which will increase water flow under a bridged portion of the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades.
Governor Rick Scott applauded the Army Corps, saying in a statement it’s a signal of the Corps’ “willingness to join Florida in making water restoration a priority.”
Just a week ago, state officials were upset with the Army Corps because the federal agency announced it was delaying its approval of the Central Everglades Planning Project, which is a more comprehensive effort to move water south.
